Hunting adaptations in autism and neurodiversity

Abstract

The connection between hunting traits and neurodiversity and autism was researched. Previous research has shown that the evolutionary adaptations to confrontation hunting practiced by hunter & gather societies are still important and expressed in team sports. The current study expanded on this and showed that both physical and psychological adaptations to confrontation hunting are still part of the typical population, but to a lesser degree in the neurodiverse or autistic. Instead, the neurodiverse and autistic population had physical and psychological adaptations to close combat hunting, which originated with Neanderthals. Rather than viewing neurodiversity as a set of independent traits, it can more successfully be considered to be a set of connected traits that originally were successful evolutionary adaptations.